Wolverines gathered at the Fulton Library to drop off old clothes, swap them, and pick up new clothing from fellow students on Saturday. Students who participated in the drive also picked up a free food voucher that is redeemable on campus.
The event was originally planned by the UVUSA to take place on the Library Quad, but the rain prevented it from taking place outside. The event was moved indoors to the second floor of the Fulton Library.
“It was kind of a slow start but it’s ok we didn’t really know what to expect but it’s been good,” said Bre Briseno, the traditions chair for UVUSA and organizer of the event. While the drive started off slow, partially due to the rain, the tables were eventually filled with clothing for men, women , and even small children.
Once students made their donations and swapped out the clothing they wanted, “the remaining items… [were taken] to the refugee center down in Provo,” said Briseno.
“I know the Woodbury School of Business usually does a professional type clothing drive where students can come and donate their professional suits and dresses and stuff so students can come and use them for interviews… so that’s kind of where I grasped the idea,” Briseno said. “But I kind of wanted it to be something that can be for anyone like kids and adults.”
“This is the first one that we’ve done so this is the guinea pig to see if we want to continue doing this as a tradition every year… I think different organizations have done smaller things like this but not exactly like a swap and then a donation.”
It is also not going to be the last event of its kind. Briseno said, “It’s exciting because we’re going to be doing this next semester too so it’s nice to see what we can improve on.”
One possible change may be to hold future clothing drives during the week when there will be more traffic on campus. “I think I’ll probably do it during the week. I would love to do it during the day… or even during a slow period,” said Briseno. She stated that this way students can go home and come back to donate if needed.
Students can stay updated on future plans such as the clothing drive on the UVU Students Instagram page.
